When kids first enter grade school, most of them love it. It’s an opportunity for them to learn more about the world and meet new people. But after a while, it can start to grate on them.
As a parent, you can’t do much to help. You want your kids to enjoy themselves, but since you’re not there with them at school, there’s not an awful lot that you can do - or so you think.
In this post, we take a look at some cunning strategies you can use to help your children fall back in love with school all over again.
Set The Tone
Children will often react to the tone that you set and follow your lead. You're their role model, so if you are positive about school, then they will often follow.
Initially, they might be a little resistant to this approach. But if you continue talking about the benefits of school, they’ll eventually take them on board themselves.
Show Interest In What They’re Doing
Another way you can help is to show an interest in what they’re doing. Ask them questions about what they're learning, their specials or their friends so that they know their day is important to you. A lot of the time, kids aren’t quite sure about the value of their work or why they need to learn something. As the parent, you can talk to them about why a specific topic is helpful and how it can make their lives better. You can also just get involved with their work. Being just a small part of it can actually help to make it more fun.
Take Advantage Of Events
If the school spirit day is coming up, make sure that you go all out. Don’t waste the opportunity to allow your kids to have a little fun by dressing them up, no matter what the theme. Days like these tend to be the ones that students remember for the rest of their lives. Getting involved in other events like festivals, book fairs or a homecoming parade can also create positive feelings about school.
Help Them Explore Extracurricular Activities
Kids generally have more fun at school when they are part of an extracurricular club. Which they join is very much dependent on their skills. If they’re into music, they could join the choir or the school band. You could also get them to take part in sports or even join the cadets if that’s available. Once they join these clubs, they will tend to naturally find greater balance in their school lives. It won’t always be about academic work all the time. According to Angela Duckworth, the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, participating in an extra curricular for at least two years in high school can help students acquire skills allowing them to be more successful in facing the challenges of college.
Find Ways To Encourage Friendships
Going to school to study and nothing else can be a little dull. So it’s a good idea to encourage your kids to build friendships. But how do you do this? Well, one way is to simply allow your children to invite their classmates back home after school. Allowing them to develop their friendships outside of the school environment helps them to build their social skills and improve their relationships with others.
Celebrate Their Successes
Finally, you might want to encourage them by celebrating all of their successes associated with school. Successes don't have to be major things like straight As or team captain. Celebrating personal successes, like improved scores in a difficult subject or getting all of their homework turned in on time can also help them recognize their own progress.
This is a contributed post.
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